Ambient-cure compositions based on carbon-Michael reaction between active methylene groups and active alkene groups are known in the art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,217,396; 4,217,439; 4,218,515 and 4,229,505 disclose crosslinked polymers from polyfunctional acrylates, cyanoacetates, diacetoacetamides, and ureadiacetoacetamides. The crosslinking is activated by strongly basic catalysts such as sodium methoxide, sodium metal, sodium ethylate and benzyl-trimethyl ammonium methoxide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,018 teaches the use of base catalysts to activate carbon-Michael cure reactions of mixtures of acetoacetate polymers and polyfunctional acrylates. Other related inventions involve carbon-Michael reactions with acetoacetate polymers as carbon-Michael donors and maleate polyesters and fumarate polyesters as carbon-Michael acceptors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,878 discloses the use of active-methylene containing polymers as hardening agents in photographic applications. The '878 patent specifically discloses polymers made from acetoacetate and cyanoacetate (ester) monomers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,673 discloses crosslinkable polymers derived from various amides and which are useful in photographic applications.
Some disadvantages with the prior are compositions involving carbon-Michael curing reactions are the relatively slow cure rates, susceptibility to hydrolysis, and relative nonreactivity with poly (methacrylate) crosslinkers. The present invention effectively overcomes these disadvantages by providing polymers polymerized from cyanoacetamide monomers which are readily crosslinked by carbon-Michael reactions with a variety of carbon-Michael acceptors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel polymer compositions which cure relatively rapidly at ambient temperatures. It is a further object of this invention to provide polymer compositions which have improved hydrolysis resistance, hardness and weatherability. If is an even further object of this invention to provide novel polymers which can be rapidly crosslinked by polyfunctional methacrylates to yield polymer compositions which are relatively non-toxic in comparison to prior art compositions.